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Valparaíso
Have been in Valparaíso for the last couple of days and love it. I know it sounds pretentious to say it, but it´s such a bohemian city. I especially love the graffiti and could (and have) wandered around for hours just looking at the walls. It´s proper art, not just the 'Baz woz ere´ kind of stuff.
Went on a walking tour of the city on day one and was glad I´d done it (although it felt a bit lazy having someone else show you around). Got to learn some quirky bits and pieces about the city that I wouldn´t have found out otherwise. We visited the port area, which was crammed with pelicans and seals trying to steal the fishermen´s catch: I´ve never seen anything like it. Then we spent most of the time walking around Cerros Alegre and Concepción, the most picturesque hills in the city. The guide was a Chilean refugee who´d spent half his life in Oxford; it was quite strange listening to a very South American looking guy speaking with a West Country burr!
Went on another tour out to the countryside yesterday as I was getting a bit bored of sightseeing on my own. The tour itself wasn´t much good but I got to have a nice day out with some others from the hostel (including some French Canadians who couldn´t stop laughing - I´ve never met anyone who laughs so much before!). The French Canadians also got us invited back to the guide´s house for dinner in the evening - we had excellent lasagne and the Pisco sour was good too!
Today I wandered amongst the dead in the city´s cemeteries. Not terribly exciting, but recommended in my guide book and a tranquil way to spend the morning. Then I visited a Latin American photography exhibition in one of the metro stations, which I really enjoyed. The afternoon I spent in the adjacent city, Viña del Mar, a complete contrast to Valparaíso. It´s a brash, modern beach resort full of skyscrapers and posh hotels ...
Next stop Pucón via a flying visit to Santiago.
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